Desk research on existing VNFIL good practices and tools

COUNTRY: France

Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) is an instrument to obtain all or part of a recognized title (diploma, title for professional purpose or certificate of professional qualification) and an official recognition of skills acquired by the experience.

NAME OF THE PRACTICE OR TOOL: VAE – Validation des Acquis de ^Experience (Validation of Acquired Experience)

1. AIM

2. OBJECTIVES

– Access to programmes to take up studying again

– Award of a partial or a whole qualification.

3. TARGET GROUP

Being closely linked to the individual right to continuous vocational training, VAE turns out to be an individual right and, by law, the only requisite individuals must have is a three-year experience in a certain field relevant to the field of the qualification they want to obtain.

4. SECTOR

VAE can be organised for a wide range of qualifications, not only those awarded or accredited by Ministries such as VET qualifications and higher education qualifications but also sector qualifications recognized by social partners such as Certificats de Qualification Professionnelle (CQP).

5. HOW TO USE

The VAE process is built on two distinct phases, namely the IDENTIFICATION and the ASSESSMENT phase.

1. Identification (or documentation) phase

The VAE application follows a two-step procedure for all qualifications (except those delivered by the ministry in charge of employment).

• For the registration of applicants in the VAE process, a common format for the collection of information has been developed, which is known as Livret 1. This is used for a first eligibility check.

• The second part of the application is the preparation and submission by the candidate of a portfolio identifying and documenting the learning outcomes to be validated (called Livret 2). The exact structure and content of this document can vary in content according to the awarding body; in all cases, it contains a detailed written description of the applicant’s knowledge and skills acquired through experience as well as evidence of past professional achievements. As part of the procedure used at the ministry in charge of employment, the candidate must present a document called dossier de synthese professionnelle (DSPP)presenting its professional experience.

2. Assessment (or certification) phase

The content and relevance of the portfolio is assessed by the members of an ad-hoc validation jury. The jury meets in the presence of the candidate; this typically includes a by the candidate about his/her experience, an interview with the candidate and debate with jury members. The jury can then decide to award a full or partial validation to the candidate or not to award anything. Other methods can be used as part of the assessment/certification phase (related to the type of learning outcomes to be assessed) such as observation of real or simulated working activities. Tests and examinations are not common practice.

6. LINKS WITH OTHER TOOLS

VAE – Validation des Acquis de I’Experience (Validation of Acquired Experience) https://www.francevae.fr/

RNCP – Repertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles (The national Repertory of Vocational Qualifications)

http://www.cncp.gouv.fr/repertoire

VAPP – Validation des Acquis Personnels et Professionnels (Validation of Personal and Professional Acquisitions)

https://www.cnam-idf.fr/validation-des-acquis-personnels-professionnels-vapp

CIBC – Centres Interinstitutionnels de Bilan de Competences (Interinstitutional Competence Assessment Centers)

http://www.cibc.net/

7. SOURCE OF INFORMATION (LINK TO A WEBSITE)